CONI and Roma 2024 release the First Census of Sports Facilities in Rome

includes over 2,200 sites. The full results will be presented on September 27.

ROME, September 6, 2016—The Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) and Rome 2024 have released the first census of sports facilities ever carried out in Rome. More than 2,200 sites in the Italian capital were mapped, with 1,000 of the sites being public institutions, schools included.

Over the course the six months, a team of young engineers and architects hired by CONI and the Roma 2024 Bid Committee collected nearly 10,000 photos documenting the state of each facility, which will soon be made available online, and built an app dedicated to sports in the city featuring a collective map, detailed descriptions and geolocation data for each facility.

The complete results of the census will be presented by Rome 2024 President Luca di Montezemolo, Vice President Luca Pancalli, General Coordinator Diana Bianchedi and CONI President Giovanni Malagò at a press conference on September 27.

As part of the legacy of Rome’s Olympic and Paralympic projectfor the city, CONI and the Rome 2024 Bid Committee aimed to task CONI Servizi and ConiNet – together with the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research in Italy (MIUR), Rome’s City Council and Città Metropolitana – with developing afundamental tool meant to benefit the Roman community beyond the Games themselves. Knowing which facilities are available and what condition they are in, particularly in the city’s suburbs, will be key to developing future sports infrastructure and services in Rome.

The four primary objectives of the census included: first, learn which facilities are present and how they can be further developed, creating an online database of all public, private and school-run facilities; second, select sites, including those in the suburbs, that could be renovated and used as training facilities, should Rome win the bid to host the Olympics and Paralympics; third, develop a tool that will be useful for future improvements and aims at optimizing the services available to citizens and increasing the focus on sports in our schools; and lastly, contribute to developing a safer, more accessible, inclusive and sustainable city by promoting physical fitness, integration and a healthy lifestyle.

The young team of engineers and architects carefully analyzed sports facilities, gyms, fields and other sites, collecting information regarding the condition of each facility, the level of accessibility, the presence or absence of defibrillators, technical features, the types of activities possible at each site and other details. The census also created a map highlighting areas for improvement around Rome, specifying actions to be taken to renovate facilities, comply with standards, and make the most of the sports facilities available. This study, and the permanent monitoring and updating that will go with it, will be part of the city’s heritage as a tool for further planning – a legacy independent of Rome’s candidacy.